Portrait of My Father as a Mute Swan

“Apostats par la suite” by Ernest Williamson III

We lost him weeks ago to the virus,
but now, the day before Christmas,
here he is in the form of a swan, 
the one in Germany who stopped 
twenty-three trains, sitting an hour
on the tracks without moving,
beside his lifeless companion
who got tangled in the wires above.  

I’d know him anywhere, bowed so low
in grief, my mother’s death a wound
that would never mend, a loss
so large it blocked out everything.
The heart-slowing, stone-in-the chest
weight of the universe shifted.
Head down, eyes pained, quiet tears.
His voice more faint each year.

There he is, out on the tracks yet, 
magnificent white wings drooped
in sorrow, his great strength stunned
to a stillness no one can breach.
For somewhere, deep in his bones, 
he knows mourning is commensurate
to that sudden, deep well of loss,
its savage, shattering silence.

About the author

Caroline Wellman’s recent poems have appeared in The Hopper, Whale Road Review, and the anthology Corona Silver Linings. Her poem “Winter Dreams” won the Anthology Poetry Award for 2022 and will appear in an upcoming issue of Anthology. She has taught writing and literature at colleges in the American midwest and south, and recently taught introductory journalism to local middle school students. She currently works for the US Postal Service in Illinois.

about the artist

Dr. Ernest Williamson, III has published creative work in over 600 journals. He has published poetry in over 200 journals, including The Oklahoma Review, The Roanoke Review, I-70 Review, and Grasslimb. Williamson has published visual artwork in hundreds of journals including New England Review, The Journal, Kaltblut Magazine, Columbia Journal and Tupelo Quarterly. Williamson is currently self-employed and resides in Nashville, Tennessee. See more of his work here: www.ernestwilliamsoniii.com